Labor favoured to win Tasmanian election

Bookmakers have Labor as favourites to win the Tasmanian election for a fourth successive term on March 20, despite a swing to the Liberals.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

Victoria's criminal laws to be reviewed

Victoria's criminal laws are about to undergo a major review with the public getting a bigger say about increasing maximum penalties.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

Sydney FC coach wary of in-form Phoenix

Sydney FC coach Vitezslav Lavicka believes Wellington Phoenix hold the edge in morale going into Saturday's A-League preliminary final.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

Glaucoma affecting 150,000 Australians

More than 150,000 Australians have been diagnosed with the vision-destroying condition glaucoma but just as many may have it but don't know.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

Australia says new Israel settlement 'not helpful' (AFP)

AFP - Australia joined international condemnation Thursday of Israel's plan to build 1,600 new homes in Jerusalem, saying the move was "not helpful" to building peace with the Palestinians.

2 Australians charged in vicious attack on tourist (AP)

AP - Two Australian teenagers have been charged in a brutal attack in a Sydney train station on a Canadian tourist in a wheelchair.
Read more [Yahoo World News]

Two charged with assault after balcony fall

Two men have been charged with assaulting a man critically injured after a fall from a balcony in Auckland last night.The man, in his 50s, remained in a critical condition in Auckland Hospital after the fall from the balcony of...
Read more [New Zealand Herald]

Banks: 'I unblock drains and I rescue cats'

Auckland mayor John Banks, a candidate for the mayoralty of the proposed new super city, has been uncharacteristically modest about his efforts to save a cat stuck up a tree at a constituent's house.Mr Banks got a call late last...
Read more [New Zealand Herald]

Sydney teens charged over attack on Canadian wheelchair-user (AFP)

AFP - Two Australian teenagers have been charged over a vicious attack on a disabled Canadian tourist who was knocked out of his wheelchair and battered with a metal bar, police said on Thursday.

Woman admits hiding baby son's body

A 27-year-old woman hid the body of her baby boy born in a Christchurch park at the end of a secret pregnancy.She pleaded guilty to disposing of the body when she appeared in Christchurch District Court today.She was remanded...
Read more [New Zealand Herald]

Libel laws: from Victorian businessmen to an international business

Boris Berezovsky case raises concerns about 'libel tourism' in UK, though judges have defended system

English libel laws have grown from defending the reputations of Victorian businessmen to an international business. Berezovsky's latest victory follows a decade of litigation by the Russian businessman. In 2001 the House of Lords ruled that a case he brought against the American publishers of Forbes magazine could be tried in the UK, despite claims by many that the appropriate forum was Russia, where Berezovsky was a national, or the US, where the vast majority of copies were published.

One law lord, Lord Hoffman, dissented in that case, arguing that "Mr Berezovsky has not suffered substantial damage to his reputation in England."

But Hoffman is one of a number of high-profile judges, along with media judge Mr Justice Eady, who have defended the English legal system from claims of libel tourism. They argue that efforts by American legislators to protect Americans from the "chilling" effect of the English law reflect the American belief "that their way is the only way forward for the whole world".

And the claimant-friendly nature of English libel law has continued to attract growing criticism. In 2008 the UN committee on human rights expressed concern about "libel tourism" in the UK, saying it discouraged critical media reporting on matters of serious public interest. A report last month by the Commons committee on culture, media and sport The report considered a number of cases including one brought by Saudi businessman Bin Mahfouz against American author Rachel Ehrenfeld for a book she wrote about the financing of terrorism, despite only 23 copies having been sold in the UK, and a Ukranian businessman Rinat Akhmetov, who sued a Ukranian language website in the English courts for an article read primarily in the Ukraine.

"The UK's reputation as a country which protects free speech and freedom of expression is being damaged by concern over libel tourism," the report said.

• Law
• Boris Berezovsky
• Media law

Overseas tourists flocking to Victoria

Victoria is attracting more overnight international visitors than the rest of the country with 30 per cent of tourists coming to state in 2009.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

Rodney fights on after late Super City changes

Rodney district is still vowing to fight its inclusion in the Auckland Super City despite a final announcement on the boundaries this morning.An extra ward and two additional local boards were revealed today, but Rodney's bid...
Read more [New Zealand Herald]

Wellywood sign could breach trademark

Wellington could be breaching trademark laws if a Wellywood sign is erected at Miramar, Hollywood executives say.The sign, which has been given resource consent by Wellington City Council, has been designed to copy the iconic...
Read more [New Zealand Herald]

André de Wet

My friend André de Wet, who has died aged 75, was a photographer with a sharp eye for news pictures and a rare sense of artistry.

Born in Cape Town, he was educated at Wellington boys high school, in Cape Province. He tried various occupations before discovering his ability with cameras. To earn a living, he roamed the beaches of Hermanus on the coast of the western Cape, taking pictures of holidaymakers. But his were not seaside snapshots – these were real photographs.

Not surprisingly, André easily found his way into the country's newsrooms. Between 1959 and 1973, he worked as a staff photographer for several newspapers. His stint at the Cape Times coincided with the newspaper's fierce opposition to the apartheid regime. The Cape Argus, the Cape Herald, Die Vaderland and Dagbreek all benefited from his work. His frequent job changes were indicative of his restless nature.

After moving to London in 1973, he worked as a freelance photographer for an impressive list of clients, including Reuters, Associated Press, South African Associated Newspapers, Le Figaro, El País and the New York Times.

His sculptures and drawings were exhibited in Cape Town. He published two books of his drawings and poetry and exhibited abstract lithographs, based on photographs, in London.

Eye disorders slowly robbed André of his sight, but he admirably conquered the depression that struck him after he went completely blind in the early 1990s. He is survived by his daughter, Eunice, and son, Jan, from his first marriage; and a daughter, Una Maev, from his second marriage, to Moya McGuin.

• Newspapers
• South Africa

Tasmanian devil colony shows immunity to cancer (AP)

AP - The discovery of a genetically distinct colony of Tasmanian devils may save the species from being wiped out by a contagious cancer that has decimated the population, Australian scientists said Wednesday.

Inside the flat of taxi murder suspect

The man suspected of killing an Auckland taxi driver told his flatmates in the days following the murder that a badly injured leg was caused by a game of basketball.One female resident told the Herald he had to use a stool to...
Read more [New Zealand Herald]

Man falls from flat balcony

A man was last night fighting for his life after falling off a balcony east of Auckland city.Emergency services were called to the Glen Innes flat about 6.45pm and took the man, in his 50s, to Auckland City Hospital in a critical...
Read more [New Zealand Herald]

Ballet and rugby under one roof

Dozens of directors who run Auckland's cultural and sporting facilities look set to be dumped by the Government for a handful of directors to control everything from ballet in the Aotea Centre to rugby fixtures at North Harbour Stadium.The...
Read more [New Zealand Herald]

Joyce adamant on city transport giant

The Government has no plans to shelve the mega-transport agency for the Super City, says Transport Minister Steven Joyce.But the minister says he plans to consult Auckland mayors and Auckland Regional Council chairman Mike Lee...
Read more [New Zealand Herald]

Highway threatens ancient Aboriginal site

An ancient artefact site that today's Aborigines are struggling to protect from road building could push human occupation of Tasmania out to 40,000 years ago.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

Michael Clarke set to dump fiancee after quitting NZ tour

Australian cricketer Michael Clarke's engagement to model Lara Bingle is reportedly on the rocks - as claims surface he was up close with a mystery brunette at a popular Auckland nightclub last weekend.A woman who was partying...
Read more [New Zealand Herald]

New Caledonia taps Australia for reef protection (AFP)

AFP - New Caledonia on Wednesday enlisted Australia's help to protect its massive coral reef, the world's second biggest after the Great Barrier Reef.

Australia to play Ukraine in Fed Cup

A tricky away assignment against the Ukraine stands in the way of Australia returning to the Fed Cup world group for the first time since 2004.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

NBN Co finds a home in Sydney

The company charged with rolling out the federal government's national broadband network has finalised the location of its Sydney offices.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

Howard, sacred sites enter Tas campaign

John Howard, sacred sites, a Greens launch and cable cars were all part of day three of the official Tasmanian election campaign.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

Australia's reputation damaged by violence: FM (AFP)

AFP - Violence against Indian students has damaged Australia's reputation and will lead to a drop in the number of foreign students, Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said.

Accused says she didn't hurt toddler

A woman who is on trial for murdering a three-year-old boy in her care told police she never laid a hand on him, a court was told today.Patricia Angela Pickering, 38, has pleaded not guilty in the High Court at Auckland to murdering...
Read more [New Zealand Herald]

NZers kicked out of Morocco not missionaries

A New Zealand family kicked out of Morocco say that although they are Christians, they were not trying to convert Muslim orphans they looked after.Aucklanders Chris and Tina Broadbent and their two young children were given an...
Read more [New Zealand Herald]

Film festival a bridge between India and Australia

The director of the Indian Film Festival, which opened in Melbourne on Wednesday, says she hopes the event will be a cultural bridge between the Australian and Indian communities.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

Dan Marsh retires from top-level cricket

Former Tasmanian captain Dan Marsh will retire from first-class cricket at the end of the Sheffield Shield match against Victoria.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

Auditor slams some Sydney bus services

Sydney bus companies should be fined for not meeting performance benchmarks, the NSW Auditor-General has recommended.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

Tas slump to 3-46 at lunch against Vics

Tasmania slumped to 3-46 after winning the toss in their Sheffield Shield cricket match against Victoria at the MCG.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

Australia and Indonesia move to combat people-smuggling framework

AUSTRALIA and Indonesia have signed a new framework to combat people smuggling, but have released few details on how the plan will work.
Read more [The Age: Australia National]

New hope in devil disease fight

There is new hope in the fight against the disease wiping out the Tasmanian devil.
Read more [ABC News Australia]